Paper reed.



I No. -73l, 714. V PATENTED JUNE 23, 1903.

F. J. SHAW.

B a? k Witnesses: lnveniar: 25 FranlZJSimw,

2 83M j by Z Tm; NORRIS vnzns co pumuuma. WASHINGTON. n. c

To all whom it may concern.-

Patented June 23, 1903.

FFICE.

FRANK J. SHAW, OF LEOMINSTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

PAPER REED.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 731,714,, dated June23, 1903.

Application filed May 31, 1902. $erial No. 109,609. (No specimens.)

Be it known that I, FRANK J. SHAW, a citizen of the United States,residing at Loominster, in the county of Worcester and State ofMassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Paper Reeds, of which thefollowing description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is aspecification, like letters on the drawing representing like parts.

The object of my invention is to provide a paper reedthat is, a reedmade from paper-as asubstitute for the ordinary natural reeds commonlyused in basket and chair work.

. An objection to the natural. reed is its liability to'break orsplinter easily, making it difficult to weave into the various forms ofbasket work variously employed, for instance, in the basket bodies ofbaby-car-.

riages, the ornamental decoration of chairs, and the like. The naturalreed also is not of a uniform color and when woven in basket orornamental work presents a lack of unitwisted paper reed so treated withglue or.

formity of color, which is objectionable from the artistic standpoint.

My invention comprehends an improved stiffening substance as to give tothe completed reed a degree of resilient stiffness neeessary to enableit to be used in the weaving v of basket andornainental work, such asabove referred to, yet which will notbreak or splinter while undermanipulation.

In the accompanying drawing, illustrating diagrammatically one method ofproducing a reed involving my invention, there are shown the appliancesnecessary for applying the glue or stiffening material to'the paperstrip and thereafter for twisting the said strip into the form of thecompleted reed.

Referringto the drawing, the stripor band of paper, preferably a lowgrade of Manila paper, is conveniently wound into the form of a coil B,carried by a holder B. The strip or band is drawn from its coil duringand by the twisting action and in passing to the twisting devices isacted upon by suitable devices, typified at o c, for applying liquidglue or suitable or equivalent stin'enthe said strip.

ing substance to one or both sides or faces of While it is possible toapply the glue to both sides of the strip, yet because of the liabilityof thoroughly saturating the strip and rendering it thereby easilybreakable when applied to bothfaces I prefer to apply the glue to oneface only of the strip. After passing the gl ue-applying device ordevices a strip is conducted'to the spindle F, about which it is wrappedin a generally spiral tubular form, and is drawn upward through theshell or die 1), which crimps together the spiral tube and compressesthe latter,after which it is subjected to a rapid and suitabletwisting action due to the rapid rotation of the flier J, carrying theseries of pulleys or sheaves K K, about which the twisted reed isconducted, from which it is elasticity or resilient stiffness which iswholly absent in an article of this kind as heretofore made or attemptedto be made.

I am aware that paper twine or string has been made in the mannerabovedescribed excepting as to the application to the untwisted ribbon ofglue or sti tfening substance, and such string or twine to my knowledgewhen completed has been passed through a size-box and a coating of sizeapplied exteriorly thereto. A paper string or cord thus exterior-1ysized lacks, however, the inherent resilient stiffness required bya reedfor purposes of weaving and when bent or woven lacks resilient stiffnessenough to hold itself in position where woven-in fact, the littleexterior stiffness applied to it is quickly lost by the flexing of thestring or the exposure thereof to dampness. A reed, on the other hand,must possess inherent elastic or resilient stiffness that will permit itto be worked like the natural reed and which will retain its resilientstiffness to the extent necessary to enable it to remain of itself inthe position in which it is Woven,'h'owever open the mesh of thebasket-Work may be and however separate one reed may be from itsneighbor.

By applying the glue or stiffening substance to the strip or band beforetwisting I insure the carrying of the glue or stiffening substance intothe innermost parts of the reed. In fact, as the reed is fluted,compressed, and twisted it becomes thoroughly impregnated through andthrough with the glue or stiffening substance, which being initially setin the twisted reed gives to the latter an inherent elastic stiffnessrequired for its purpose and wholly lacking in a paper twine or string.

By employing colored papers reeds may be produced of any desiredcoloring, thus giving to the basket-Work a color effect suited to thetaste of the weaver.

My improved reed is of course practically indestructible, since itcannot break or splinter, and, furthermore, by reason of its production,from paper, the coloring of which may always be uniform, the coloreffect of basket-work produced with the paper reed is much more uniformand attractive than the same basket-work woven with the natural reed.

A paper reed possesses many important commercial advantages over thenatural reed. For example, the natural reed deteriorates with age,breaking more easily the older it becomes, whether or not it is inactual use. Again, the natural reed is quite porous in its structure andordinarily requires a coating or size of glue to fill the pores beforethe shellac, varnish, or finishing material is applied thereto, and itisrecognized among those who handle natural reeds that the latter willbreak much more easily after having been coated with size or glue thanbefore. The paper reed, on the other hand, is so thoroughly compact andcondensed by the operation of twisting that it needs no fillingwhatsoever to support the finishing-coats of shellac or varnish, thusnot only saving materially in the cost of finishing the paper-reed work,but retaining to the fullest the inherent and characteristic life andresiliency of the reed itself even after it is finished. The paper reedis much cheaper than the natural reed, presenting at the same time asuperior effect in the work, thus making it a desirable reed to use.

In the above disclosure of my invention I have referred to the reed asformed froma single strip of paper. Obviously, however, if a singlestrip does not produce sufficient body for the reed, my inventioncomprehends the use of a plurality of strips which are. twisted togetherto constitute the reed. In such event the stiffening substance might beapplied to each separately or to the built-up band composed of the softstrips, the invention remaining the same whether one or more strips orbands are employed.

The drawing illustrates a machine of the type of that shown in UnitedStates Patent to Brownell, No. 551,615, December 19, 1895, to whichreference may be had, if desired, for a more detailed description of itsconstruction and operation. It is not deemed necessary herein todescribe this or any machine more in detail, since any means Whatsoeverfor applying the stiffening substance and twisting the paper strip maybe employed.

My invention is not limited to the particular embodiment thereof ormeans for carrying it out hereinbeforedescribed, but may be variedwithin the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having described my invention, and without limiting myself in the matterof details, What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A tightly-twisted paper reed having a stiffening substance twisted intoand throughout the same to thoroughly impregnate said reed andpermeating the interstices thereof, said stiffening substance. beinginitially set in the twisted condition of the reed, whereby the entirereed is rendered a homogeneous, hard, resilient body.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRANK J. SHAW.

Witnesses:

FREDERICK L. EMERY, THOMAS E. BOOTH.

